Letters to the editor for Nov. 24, 2012

Petraeus deserved more respect

The depiction of Gen. David Petraeus in the Nov. 14 Editorial Page cartoon brings this newspaper down to a lower level than I have ever seen from a paper I have always respected. Gen. Petraeus made a very bad decision in his private life, but that does not mean his life in service to his country should be diminished by this mistake. This man has devoted his life to his country and did not deserve this lack of respect by this paper or anyone for that matter.

JUDY BAKER

GREECE

Hamas prodded Israel's response

There is so much concern that many civilians are being killed or wounded in Gaza by the Israelis. Hamas chose to buy rockets with their money instead of food for their people. For several years, they have been firing these rockets into Israel, and Israel has not responded in kind. When you are being bullied by someone, you can stand just so much before you get real angry at the one who is bullying you.

If you can remember World War II, the Nazis did the same to England with their rockets. Didn't the British respond? Even the U.S. Air Force did carpet bombing in Dresden, Germany, and other cities. Don't you think many innocent civilians were killed there also?

Case in point: There is a lady in my neighborhood who migrated here from Austria. Ever since I told her that I was in the U.S. Army and that our outfit helped bomb the ball bearing factory in the city where she lived (killing many civilians), she hasn't spoken to me.

Ask for trouble and receive it.

JOHN CIARICO

PENFIELD

American citizens deserve better

While I agree with the writer's conclusion (Nov. 13 letter, "Why should Republicans work with Obama?"), I disagree with his reasoning.

The voters, not the "left-wing media," sent a clear message to Congress: Work together to help fix the problems we all face. Everyone in this country - including seniors who benefit from Social Security and Medicare and people who believe in equal rights for gays and lesbians and the right for women to decide when to have children - is entitled to a president and representatives who work for the benefit of all constituents, be they Democrat, Republican or Independent.

ROSE-MARIE KLIPSTEIN

BRIGHTON

First Amendment rights under attack

I am responding to Froma Harrop's Oct. 26 column entitled "Birth control smokescreen." Though I appreciate her point that the poorest women are most affected by the exclusion of contraception, that is not the issue. The issue is the attack on the First Amendment right to freedom of religion, not whether contraception should be freely available to the poor.

What is lost on many people is not that people of faith are trying to impose their beliefs on others, but rather others' beliefs are being imposed upon them. That is the real smokescreen. The Health and Human Services mandate requires people of faith to fund coverage that they consider intrinsically evil, such as abortifacient contraceptives.

I applaud Harrop's efforts to care for the poor; however, the government should not impose a law that restricts people from freely practicing their religion by mandating them to violate their conscience. If enough people believe that contraceptive care is necessary for the poor, then private donations to secular ministries should be the means, not by government mandate.

JOHN MATINA

WEBSTER

Spielberg's 'Lincoln' doesn't disappoint

During these times of X-rated movies with such violence, nudity and foul language being the norm for drawing moviegoers to the theaters, it was refreshing to see a very interesting, informative, historical movie titled Lincoln by director Steven Spielberg. The movie goes by faster than its 21/2-hour duration.

In a nation divided by Civil War and the strong winds of change, our 16th president pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite our country and abolish slavery. Lincoln's success led our country through its greatest constitutional, military and moral crisis - the American Civil War - preserving the union while ending slavery. Not bad for a person reared in a poor family on the western frontier, who was self-educated, became a lawyer, and later president of our great nation.

Anyone going to see the movie Lincoln will indeed find themselves applauding like I did at movie's end.